In a classic thriller in Vishakhapatnam on Thursday, the Indian cricket team lost to South Africa by three wickets, suffering its first defeat in the Women's ODI World Cup 2025.
Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh's worthy knock of 94 off 77 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes, ensured India posted a fighting total of 251/10. But it was South Africa's Nadine de Klerk's heroic unbeaten inning of 84 that broke India's winning streak in the World Cup. Richa Ghosh's 94 also went in vain after Klerk's thrilling knock.
As they began to chase 252, South Africa staggered early on. Kranti Gaud and Amanjot Kaur took early wickets, reducing them to just 18/2. A 39-run partnership was built after this between the South African skipper, Laura Wolvaardt, and Marizanne Kapp. But in the 14th over, Sneh Rana struck Kapp's wicket. Soon after, Anneke Bosch was caught over and bowled by Deepti Sharma.
By the 20th over, South Africa was just 81/5. Then, developed a 61-run partnership between Laura Wolvaardt and Chloe Tryon, but the captain lost her wicket scoring 70 runs.
South Africa's innings moved ahead with Tryon and Nadine de Klerk. Tryon hit 49 off 66 balls, while out of 84 runs hit by Klerk, 39 were smashed in the last three overs, where she managed to take her team over the finish line.
Earlier, India's innings started steady and strong, where openers Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal built a 55-run stand together. Scoring 23 runs, Mandhana lost her wicket, as she broke a 28-year-old record of scoring the highest runs in ODIs by a women's cricketer in one calendar year. In 2025, Mandhana has a tally of 982 ODI runs, surpassing Australian cricketer Belinda Clark's 970 runs in 1997.
Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol's partnership lasted for only 38 runs, ending at the end of the 17th over. India soon collapsed in 19 runs, with back-to-back wickets of Pratika Rawal, Jemimah Rodrigues, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, and Deepti Sharma. By the end of the 27th over, India was 102/6.
Amanjot Kaur and Richa Ghosh added 51 runs, taking India past 150 runs. India came in a strong position as Sneh Rana joined Richa Ghosh. The latter's half-century came in 53 balls, after which she hit another 44 runs in 24 deliveries. Rana contributed 33 runs, taking India leap 250.
In their next, India will be taking over the Defending Champions, Australia, this Sunday.
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